Terrific Tuesdays: Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Few things say Christmas quite like a light display in front of a house. In fact, many neighborhoods have competitions now – who can have the biggest or best display. If you have a light display contest in your neighborhood, you can’t miss the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights – you’ll never quite see Christmas lights in the same way again!

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights started as a display at a the home of Jennings Osborne and his family. It grew to such a huge display that where else would he want to display it but at Walt Disney World, where it has resided since 1995! This display has more than ten MILES of lights and 30 miles of extension cords! Literally millions of lights. There are lights covering every surface – from phone booths, to buildings, to power cords. It takes 20,000 man hours to put up this display every year. That would mean if you alone tried to put these lights up, putting in 8 hours a day, it would take you more than 6 YEARS to put it up!!! And all the lights are synchronized to music. It’s truly a sight to see.

And for those who are environmentally conscious, you’ll be happy to learn that in 2011, there was a major overhaul and all the lights have been swapped out for LED lights.

The lines get long, but trust me, you do NOT want to miss this display! It is on display usually from early/mid November through early January, and is fun for all ages.

Question of the Day: The Osborne Lights are clearly an “after dark” Disney experience along with several other fabulous evening events like fireworks, shows, and parades. What is your favorite thing to see or do “after dark” in the Disney parks?

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Nicole is a more recent convert to Disney, and has her husband Corey to thank. As a kid, she went a couple of times and had fun, but didn’t really catch the “Disney bug” until her husband finally convinced her to go in March of 2003. Since then, she goes every opportunity she can, and every time finds something new to explore! She’s a proud Disney Vacation Club owner and mother of two Disneyphiles – ages 5 (Maggie) and 2 (Max). She helps friends and family to plan Disney vacations all year round, and when she can’t be at Disney, she surrounds herself with it. Her house and office have plenty of pictures and souvenirs covering them, so she’s never far away from the magic!

I will be going to Disney world for the first time this year. We will get there Thanksgiving day. I am looking forward to everything Disney after dark. Especially the Osborne lights. I sync lights to music at my house every Christmas but no where close to what Disney does. I had o er 11,000 last Christmas. I am looking forward to seeing that number of lights synced to music. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. 🙂

So hard to pick 1 favorite Disney anything! I love all the nighttime shows, but I think Fantasmic is my favorite, followed by Wishes. The Electrical Parade is awesome too. If it counts I would also have to include The Hyperspace Hoopla during Star Wars Weekends.

My favorite after dark thing to do is the Wishes desert party. What a better way to watch the fireworks than stuffing your belly full of yummy tasty deserts. You also get one of the greatest views of the fireworks. Tinkerbell literally flies right over your head.

My favorite nighttime show in Walt Disney World is Illuminations, I love the music, I love when the different countries light up and I love the unity I feel with people from around the world. I always feel at peace watching Illuminations and that feeling continues throughout my vacation.

I’ve never been to Disney World, but one of our favorite things to do at Disneyland is to watch Fantasmic and the fireworks. It’s like a replay of all the rides we went on through out the day. It makes me cry every time!

to me, Disney comes to LIFE after Dark. It is hard to select precisely which event is more spectacular at night…from the electric street parade to the holiday lights …. from Wishes to Illuminations….. to just the way everything sparkles and twinkles just a little bit more when the sun goes down….. however I will say I cannot miss ever… no matter how many time I have seen it….FANTASMIC at Hollywood Studios. It is beyond magical, exciting, and beautiful. It is truly amazing what water, lights, and fireworks can become in the hands of the Disney imagineers.

I love to ride outdoor rides like Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain at night – Big Thunder especially looks really different at night, and at the top of the drops you get great views of the castle.

I think Wishes has to be my favorite thing to do after dark. Ever since I was a CP there watching with my roommates our final night. We all seemed to just be in awe of what had transpired the past 8 months. I made best friends for life. Now when I hear the music to wishes I still tear up and think back to that night with friends. I even have the CD that I listen to in my car when I need a special pick me up.

Spectromagic! It was the first parade I ever remember seeing at the parks, and I’ve loved it ever since. Also, although it’s not technically a “nighttime” ride/show, the Haunted Mansion! It’s my favorite ride anytime, but there’s something extra creepy about it at night.

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